4th time is not the charm: Florida man arrested after latest attempt to cross the Atlantic in 'hamster wheel'

ATLANTIC OCEAN, Fla. (WPEC) — Reza "Ray" Baluchi is a marathon runner who for years has tried pushing the boundaries.

His latest stunt? He was arrested 70 miles offshore while trying to run in a floating bubble, hamster wheel-like vessel from Florida to England.

However, this isn't the first time he's attempted this impossible feat.

The daredevil attempted similar trips in the same kind of "hydro pod vessel" in 2014, 2016 and 2021, which were all cut short with U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) rescues. Only this time, after his interception on August 26 off the coast of Tybee Island, Georgia, he threatened to kill himself if anyone tried removing him from the pod, displaying a 12-inch knife.

Day two, and Coast Guard crews on a small boat tried getting Baluchi off his home-made craft again.

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They were met with two knives this time and a warning from the man he would blow himself up, which the USCG officials took as a serious threat because he was reported to have been holding wires in his hand. A Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit was even contacted about the alleged bomb.

Day three, another Coast Guard Cutter arrived, offering food along with a warning of Hurricane Idalia's approach. Baluchi admitted there was no bomb to authorities, documents said.

On August 29 -- day four since being first contacted -- the marathon runner was removed from his hydro vessel and taken to a USCG base in Miami, where he was charged in a court hearing of obstruction of boarding and violation of a Captain of the Port order.

His bond was set at $250,000, with an arraignment scheduled for September 15.

Baluchi's 2014 rescue was off the coast of St. Augustine, Florida, when he was found in a makeshift vessel like the one showed in photos from his 2016 rescue, which was off the coast of Jupiter, Florida. In 2021, Baluchi was rescued and arrested while attempting a trip from Florida to New York.